The Price of Proxy-hood Part One: The Schism
by Saiph The Swordmaster
Summary: TJ, James, and Sophia have always been good children. They were polite, smart, and obedient. No one would ever expect them to be the three Phantom Runaways. Follow our protagonists as they're plunged into an unfamiliar world of chaos, death, and brutality. A hopeless battle between the Operators and their rebelling proxies. Welcome to Creepypasta. Rated T for language and violence.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Sophia's Perspective

**Disclaimer:****I'm not twenty people at once, therefore I don't own any of the Creepypasta characters I'm writing about. **

**I would like to give half the credit to my partner in writing this story, Thomas, thank you for making this story possible!**

_Clink! Clink! Clink! _I woke up to the soft tapping of something on my window. Befuddled, I threw on my favorite red hoodie and looked outside. There stood TJ, my best friend and neighbor for 14 years, he was throwing pebbles at my window. I frowned, I didn't think he was serious about his suggestion when we were Trick or Treating. I opened the window and called down to him before he could throw another rock, "What are you doing here?" I called in a whisper-shout.

"Come on, let's go!" He replies.

"I can't, my house has security cameras!" I hissed.

"RAPUNZEL, RAPUNZEL, LET DOWN YOUR HAIR" He shouted obnoxiously.

"Oh, for God's sake! Fine! I'll climb down! Just stop screaming!" I whispered desperately.

I opened my window, swung one leg out, and began to repel down the side of my house, "Hurry up! We don't have all night!" He said, quieter than before.

I decided to oblige to his demands, speeding up my descent. That was a bad idea.

About four feet off of the ground, I reached the spot where my favorite foothold used to rest. Unfortunately for me, I thought it was still there. When I reached down for a foothold that no longer existed, I lost my balance. I swayed once, twice, and then I was falling.

I heard a distant BAM! And felt the leaves of a bush beneath me.

"Are you okay!?" TJ cried, concerned.

"Fine. The thorns broke my fall," I replied sarcastically.

He walked over and helped me up. I did a mental once over of my body. Besides a few scratches and bruises, I was completely unharmed.

"Grab your bike! We have to go get James," He said.

I nodded and ran into the garage to get my bike and helmet. James was the third, and most easily scared member of our trio. But he was dependable, and a good friend, and there was no way he was ever going to agree to TJ's idea.

. Despite all this, we biked to his house.

As TJ gained the lead, I followed him. Soon James' house came into view, "How are we going to convince him to come with us?" I asked, catching up to him to ask him the question.

"Oh, I have a few ideas," TJ said, a devilish grin appearing on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: James' Perspective

**Don't Own It, Never Will. **

Before we start, I just have to disclose a few things here. I am a good person. I always follow the rules. I never wanted any trouble. It's just that I happen to be friends with TJ and Sophia. And trouble seemed to follow them wherever they go. I never knew what path being friends with them would lead to. Just a disclaimer, I never wanted this, any of this. I'm simply telling the story, how it happened.

I saw two silhouettes on bikes approach my house. I knew who they were, so I didn't panic. Instead, I watched them sneak in my back door. I heard them walking up the stairs, and quickly pretended to be asleep.

"REEEEEE!" TJ screeched, attempting to wake me up and scare me out of my wits.

"TJ!" Sophia reprimanded,"You're going to wake everyone up!"

"So are you, Sophia" I replied, sitting up in bed.

"Huh? James! You scared me, dummy!" She said, scowling at me.

"Me too." TJ said sarcastically.

"You two can't talk, you're the ones screaming in the middle of the night," I protested, annoyed.

"Yeah… that makes sense, but let's go it's almost three." TJ said grabbing me by the leg and throwing me out of bed.

"OW! Where the hell could we possibly be going at three in the morning?!" I demanded of my best friends.

"Just get dressed we'll tell you on the way" TJ ordered.

"I really don't trust you guys," I said, all while throwing on a brown hoodie and some sneakers.

"That's fair. But you're coming whether you like it or not," Sophia said, authoritatively.

"Yeah, I figured you were going to force me to something stupid," I said.

"Why are you agreeing to it?" She asked.

"Because I have to make sure that you two idiots don't get yourselves killed," I said.

TJ was getting impatient, "Come on, we don't have all night! James, grab your bike!" He ordered.

I have no idea why I followed his orders. It was two-thirty in the goddamn morning! I should be in bed right now. Not biking to the woods. Regardless, I ran into the garage and grabbed my bike and helmet. I may be sneaking out, but I wasn't going to break the rule that might cause me a head injury. Something told me however that, pretty soon, a head injury would be the least of my worries.

I shook off my paranoia. It was a DeviantART ritual. The chances of it working were slim. We would go, they would realise how ridiculous this was, and I would get to go home to my nice warm bed… maybe.

When I got to the driveway, TJ and Sophia were already there.

"Come on, we have to hurry!" TJ called.

"It's already 2:40," Sophia supplied.

The two took off without waiting for any response from me.

I sighed and peddled off after them, _Why am I friends with these two? _I wondered as I dreaded my fate.


	3. Chapter 3

TJ's Perspective

We reached the forest quicker than I expected. We set down our bikes, "Who has the knife?"

"Who do you think?" Sophia asked pulling out not one, not two, but five different kitchen knives.

We began to walk through the woods, and didn't stop until we found a nice thick Oak to perform the ritual.

"Do you guys remember what we have to do?" Sophia asked.

I nodded, and James shook his head.

"We need to carve the Operator Symbol on a tree, and sing two verses from the Slenderman song," Sophia explained.

James nodded, seemingly relieved by how simple the ritual was.

But she continued speaking, saying something that would make cold, dread fill me.

In a soft voice, icy cold and merciless she whispered, "Also… We're going to need a blood sacrifice.

James turned pale and backed up five steps. I burst into action.

"Not me, DO IT TO JAMES NOT ME! AHHHHHHH!" I screeched, running away.

Sophia caught me by the hood and threw me to the ground.

"You will do perfectly," Sophia whispered in my ear dragging me away.

"James, start carving the Operator Symbol," She ordered.

He stared at her blankly.

She sighed and explained, "It's a circle with an X through it. Make it small, go!" She said.

She produced a small vial and yanked me to my feet.

"Hold out your hand," She ordered.

Me, not wanting to get my hand chopped off, violently shook my head.

She growled with annoyance, "Hold out your hand, TJ. Or I swear I'll chop it off. I didn't come here at three in the goddamn morning to play in the flowers," She said.

Whimpering slightly, I held out my palm. The knife flashed into view, and made a long cut in my hand. Quickly, she held the vial, and caught a good amount of my blood.

When that was done, she bandaged it and said, "See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"

My response was a very manly, "OWIEOWIEOWIEOWIEOWIEOWIE!" As I clutched my hand to my chest.

"OK I'm done" James said, turning an interesting shade of pale green.

"Oh, no. No one leaves until the deed is done," Sophia said, sounding so ominous and so unlike herself.

Well, now no one could leave even if they wanted to. Knives have many different, fascinating uses, and I'm sure that Sophia, in her current state, wouldn't be hesitant to demonstrate for us.

We all turned to the tree which, surprisingly, had a decently carved circle with an X through it. She smiled, but it wasn't her normal, warm smile. It was cold, calculated, and psychopathic. Whatever was happening here, it was going badly wrong.

Well, whatever was going on, it was too late to back out now.

Sophia pulled out the vial, poured some on her finger, and painted the carved tree. Soon, the oak was glistening dark red.

"Gather around the tree," She ordered.

We did what she ordered, we were terrified to disagree. We did not know what she would do.

"Hold hands," She ordered.

Normally, we would've protested this embarrassing action, but none of us had a death wish. We all held hands, surrounding the tree.

We all knew without her saying what we had to do next.

I took a deep breath and began to sing, "Slenderman, Slenderman, All the Children Try To Run. Slenderman, Slenderman, To Him It's all Part of the Fun. Slenderman, Slenderman, Dressed in Darkest Suit and Tie. Slenderman, Slenderman, You Most Certainly Will Die," Our voices combined with the howl of the wind to create something haunting, and slightly unnatural.

Long after we ourselves stopped singing, our voices were still echoing around the forest. But the sound was modulated and distorted. It wasn't a sound any normal humans could make.

The voices abruptly cut off, and a sudden gust of wind blew through the forest. I watched, paralyzed with fear, as branch whipped around and caught Sophia right in the side of the head.

She collapsed to the forest floor, and the wind cut off. It was over as soon as it started.

Of course, we had bigger things to worry about than the weather. James and I both rushed to our fallen friend.

I shook her shoulders, "Hey, hey! Sophia! Wake up!" I shouted in her ear.

She stirred slightly, "TJ? James? What happened?" She asked, groggily sitting up.

We both sighed with relief, and James helped her stand up. Once she was on her feet, and had a better view of our surroundings, she frowned with confusion.

"What are we doing in the middle of the woods?" She asked.

James and I exchanged a worried look, "Uhhhhhhh…" I said, trailing off.

"Don't you remember?" James asked, with a look of shock.

She turned pale, "What did I do?" She asked.

There was a long silence.

Then I said, "You kinda got possessed by a demon."


	4. Chapter 4

Sophia's Perspective

"What?" I asked, not quite understanding what he was saying.

James elaborated for him, "Well, you started acting really weird and scary. Then you got smacked with a tree branch. Then you woke up, and didn't remember anything," He explained.

I frowned, confused, "What are you talking about?"

James explained in more detail what happened to me.

I turned paler, "We have to go! What if He's here?"

TJ and James jumped into action, and we all ran for the forest entrance.

I didn't dare look back, but James was stupid enough to, "HOLY SHIT! IT'S HIM! RUN!" He screamed.

Instinctively, I turned back to see what he was screaming about. There, next to the tree, stood a tall, faceless man, in a black business suit.

I screamed in sheer terror.

We all ran even faster. We burst out of the woods, and hopped on our bikes. I swear to God, I've never pedaled so fast in my life.

None of us dared look back, much less talk to each other. Without a word, James turned on to his own road.

Once TJ and I got back to our houses, we hurried inside. I put my bike away, and went to the front door. I fumbled with my keys for a second, but when I went to put it in the lock, I found it strangely unlocked.

I was so freaked out that I didn't even question it. I just ran inside, shut the door, and locked it.

I wasted no time going to my room and hiding under the covers. I couldn't get that face out of my head, or I suppose blank expression, since the Slenderman doesn't have a face.

It was terrifying, but oddly exhilarating. I mean, it wasn't every day you ran into an interdimensional monster. There was a kind of excitement, a thrum in my bones that could only be described as something primal.

The fear mixed with the excitement mixed with the determination burned in my soul. It was an intoxicating mixture. A sort of tingling sensation.

I laughed at the line from Jeff's story popping up in my mind. It was ridiculous, relating to a fictional, poorly written, slasher.

My mind suddenly turned serious, as I rethought the word fictional. If The Slenderman was real, then could that mean that they were all real? Jeff, Jane, Clockwork, Ticci Toby, Eyeless Jack, and the others.

I suddenly got a gut feeling that we were part of something much deeper than could be imagined.

Because if the Creepypastas were real…

That means we just invited them in.


	5. Chapter 5

**Two Weeks Later**

TJ's Perspective

It had been two weeks since we summoned the Slenderman, and we finally were beginning to relax. In two weeks, nothing else supernatural had happened to us. We were starting to think that it was all in our heads.

Heck, the cut on my hand almost completely healed. Our career as Slenderman's Proxies was over.

How did I feel about that? Disappointed. And relieved. We didn't die, and Sophia never got possessed again. That was good. But we didn't get to meet anyone. Which sucks, because I really wanted to meet Toby.

I woke up gasping from another nightmare. That was one more thing that happened after the ritual. Every night, I had horrific nightmares of the Slenderman chasing me through the woods. He got closer and closer until he was close enough to grab me with his tentacles.

He then slowly pulled me apart while I screamed in agony. My limbs broke, my muscles ripped, it was horribly realistic. Then right before he was about to rip me in half, I heard a number whispered in my ear.

It started at 14,

Then 13,

12,

11,

10,

9,

8,

7,

6,

5,

4,

3,

And 2.

But, the thing that scared me the most as I sat on my bed, terrified from all of the nightmares, was today's number. 1.

Whatever was counting down, it was over now. I had a deep set feeling of pure dread. _This is about to get real, _I thought gravely.

My thoughts were interrupted by the blare of my alarm clock. I grinned, "Eh, whatever. It's probably nothing. Everything is going to be fine," I said aloud, trying to convince myself.

I threw on some jeans, a t-shirt, and my favorite hoodie. I took a shower and brushed my teeth. I smiled at my reflection, "Today's going to be a great day. I'm totally not going to die," I said.

I ran downstairs, and yelped at the time on the wall clock. _It's 7:20! _I panicked.

I quickly grabbed some bread from the cupboard and buttered it, no time to toast it. If I could, I would've asked my parents for a ride, but they had already left for work.

I quickly ate my breakfast, and grabbed my bike and helmet. I hopped on and began to pedal.

As I biked by Sophia's house, I noticed that she too was in a rush to get to school.

I called out to her, "Hey, Sophia!" I called, pedaling up to my best friend. She grinned at me, "Hi!" She said.

She suddenly looked concerned, "It's not like you to be this late, what's up?" She asked.

"Nightmare," I said, wincing at the memory.

Her worried look increased, "Another one?" She asked.

I explained about the countdown, and her face set with determination, "I knew it. I knew I didn't imagine Him!" She said.

"It might not be him. It might've just been my mind," I said, sounding way too unsure of what I was saying.

She shook her head, "No, it has to be Him. Haven't you sensed it? This feeling in the air? Like, the whole world is holding its breath. Something's going to happen, and it's going to happen soon," She said.

I shivered, she really had a way with words. It really did feel like the calm before the storm. I tried to talk myself out of it, _No way, there's no way. He's not real. He can't be real! _

But I knew how untrue those words were. This feeling, it wasn't something that could be explained away. I could only be Him…

The Slenderman was coming for us.


	6. Chapter 6

James's Perspective

I anxiously glanced at the door. _Where are they? _I thought.

Sophia was often late, sure. But TJ was usually on time. I probably shouldn't have been this worried, but there was something wrong. I could feel a bad energy in the atmosphere today. Something bad is going to happen, and it's going to happen soon.

Just then, Sophia and TJ burst through the door. I sighed with relief, "Sophia, James, thank god you're-" Before I could finish, TJ grabbed my hand and yanked me out of the room.

The two dragged me through the hallway, and ushered me into the stairwell.

"What's going on!" I demanded, annoyed that they dragged me out of class.

Their expressions were urgent. Sophia spoke first, "James, have you felt, something… Off?" She asked.

I wanted to say that I had no idea what they were talking about. That they were crazy, and going to make me late for class. But the words resonated with me. I did feel weird, a strange sense of dread filled me. It was something that couldn't just be explained away.

I nodded, "Yeah, I think I might know what you're talking about," I said.

Just then, the door opened. Standing at the top of the stairs, staring down at us, was the homicidal old janitor, "What are you little whippersnappers doing here? Get to class!" He roared.

We all jumped, "Yes, sir! Sorry, sir!" We all yelped.

We quickly got to class.

Needless to say, our teacher, Mrs. Gill, wasn't too happy with us, "You three! Why are you late?" She demanded.

I opened my mouth to explain reasonably, but TJ beat me to the punch, "WE WERE BEING CHASED BY A RAINBOW UNICORN WITH ACID BREATH AND LASER EYES AND PIG BOMBS WITH THE DESTRUCTIVE POWER OF A GOD," He said.

Mrs. Gill just stared at him, shocked, and slightly impressed at his creative excuse. After a second she managed to say, "Just sit down, you three. Don't let it happen again. This is you last warning. If you come late again, then it'll be lunch detention," She said.

Sophia paled and nodded, "Yes, Ma'am," She said, quickly.

Without a word, we sat in our desks. Our first class of the day was math, so I quickly got my workbook out.

"As I was saying, turn to page 97 and solve problems sixteen through-" Something interrupted our teacher. Her landline was ringing.

She muttered with annoyance and picked up the phone.

I tried to understand the conversation, but it was too muffled to make out. Just a lot of Uh-huhs, m-hms, and yesses.

I was beginning to lose interest in the conversation when…

"WHO SAID RAINBOW UNICORNS!"

A boy burst through the door. I personally have never seen him before, but one glance at Sophia and TJ proved that they have.

Quickly, two other boys burst through the door after him.

My friends' shock doubled. Sophia looked like she was about to fall off her chair.

TJ actually fell off his chair.

The entire class roared with laughter, but I didn't join in. Based on their reaction, these new kids were bad news.

They were standing next to each other in the front of the classroom, the one on the left was blonde, but I couldn't bring myself to analyze him further. It was like a hidden force was keeping me from looking at his face.

The one in the middle was no different, the only thing I could tell about him was that he had brown hair.

The one on the right was the hardest to look at, I think he had black hair?

I shook my head, _This is ridiculous, _I thought, and forced eyes to see their faces.

My mistake.

When I forced my eyes up, I was greeted with a rather horrifying sight. His face was completely wrong.

His skin was unnaturally white and leathery. But that wasn't the worst of it, around where his eyelids should've been was charred black skin.

But even that wasn't the last of the horrors. Most alarmingly, he had a giant smile cut into his cheeks.

I bit back a scream, as I saw the other boys' faces. The one in the middle had a giant gash, exposing the inside of his mouth. He seemed to be twitching slightly.

The one on the left had startling blue eyes, and he bore a strong resemblance to the character Link, from The Legend of Zelda video games. When I pushed my willpower to its limits, I saw that those blue eyes had blood pouring out of them.

Once I noticed all of their terrifying features, looking at them wasn't difficult. It was like I broke the spell that hid their faces.

My brain was overloaded with this new information, a horrified, "Oh my God!" Slipped out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

Mrs. Gill looked at our horror, and took it as a chance to yell at the three of us, "TJ, James, Sophia! What's gotten into you?" She asked.

Sophia and I immediately straightened, and mumbled apologies to our teacher. TJ however stayed on the floor, too shocked to hear Mrs. Gill.

She took it as insubordination, "TJ! Get up!" She snapped.

TJ finally heard her, "Huh? Oh! Sorry!" He said, as he climbed back in his seat.

Mrs. Gill started talking to the three, "Class, these are our new students. Would you boys care to introduce yourselves? Tell us your name, and something about yourselves," She said.

The boy on the right started, "My name is Jeffery, Jeffery Woods. I was burned in a house fire when I was little," He said, sounding slightly uncomfortable at the words.

"Hi! M-my name is T-Tobias Rogers. I-I was in a c-car crash when I was l-little," He said, sounding sad at the last note. He twitched a couple times during his speech.

The boy on the left grinned in a way that walked the line between malicious and cute, "My name is Benjamin! Benjamin Lawman," He said, his expression turning dark as he said, "I almost drowned in a lake," He said.

I knew who they were, despite their different names, they were Jeff the Killer, BEN Drowned, and Ticci Toby.

I mean, I wasn't really a fan of all this occult stuff, but I've heard TJ and Sophia talk about them enough to know who they were.

Sophia especially liked talking about how cute, hyper, and innocent Toby was.

To me, he looked like a crazy serial killer, which he is. I didn't see the cute side. Though he did shout the words, "Rainbow Unicorns," So that sort of ruined the image for me.

Mrs. Gill had them sit in the empty three desks in front of us. The strange thing was, there were students occupying those seats just a minute ago.

But that detail almost immediately disappeared from my mind. I analysed the three more carefully.

They were putting two fingers on a strange mark on their hand, and closing their eyes. They seemed to be silently communicating with each other.

Even stranger, they were all different ages. Toby looked about sixteen, BEN looked twelve-ish, and Jeff looked around eighteen. None of them were the right age to be in our eighth grade math class. That solidified my belief that they were after us, and we had to confront them before it was too late.


	7. Chapter 7

Sophia's Perspective

This was bad. This was really, really bad.

I passed a note to TJ, _They found us!_

He wrote back, _I know. _

I wrote to James, _Have you seen them, past the illusion?_

He wrote back, _Is that really them? Jeff, BEN, and Toby? _

I wrote to him, _I think so. What should we do? _

He wrote back, _I don't know, ask TJ. _

To TJ, I wrote, _What should we do? _

He replied with, _We have to talk to them!_

I wrote, _No way! They'll kill us! _

He wrote, _I don't know, then. Talk to James. _

I wrote the same question to James.

He responded with, _Kill them before they kill us? _

I wrote back, _Are you crazy? Do you actually think we could pull that off? These guys are trained killers of the Slenderman! _

He responded with, _Sorry, you're right. So we talk to them, then? _

I responded with, _We don't really have a choice. _

I passed the paper to TJ, _So we talk to them at lunch? _

TJ passed it back, _Yeah, it seems like our only option. This is kinda awesome, you know. I mean, it's Jeff, BEN, and Toby._

I passed back, _Yeah, but we can't lose focus. These guys will kill us without hesitation. We have to prove ourselves worthy to be spared. _

He began to write something else, but Mrs. Gill was back. She looked down at TJ, "What is this?" She demanded.

He stared up at her, "It's a potato," He said, sounding dead serious.

I stared at him, "That's your excuse?" I wanted to scream.

Mrs. Gill snatched up the paper and began to read our conversation aloud, but trailed off when she got to the more incriminating parts of the conversation.

My face was hot, and I knew I'd turned bright red.

"Office, now," She said.

Even TJ knew not to make a retort. All three of us stood up and exited the classroom. As we did so, Mrs. Gill picked up her landline for the second time today. We shuffled out of the room before we could hear her conversation.

"Terrific, they think we're crazy," I groaned.

"We sound crazy. Reading that note out of context, we look like total lunatics," James reasoned.

I turned on TJ, "You are a lunatic! A potato? That's your excuse?" I demanded.

He was defensive, "It was the first thing that came to mind! I was under pressure," He complained.

"Why didn't you just eat the note like a normal person!" I asked.

"I'm not going to eat paper!" He protested.

I opened my mouth to make another retort, but James cut me off, "Stop. Arguing among ourselves isn't going to help," He said.

I sighed, "You're right, lashing out at TJ isn't going to help," I said to him, "I'm sorry," I directed at TJ.

He nodded, "It's fine. We don't have time to do this right now. We have to get ready," He said.

"For the trip to the office or proving ourselves to the Creepypastas?" I asked.

He shrugged, "Both," He said.

"We have a lot to look forward to," I said, sarcastically.

We walked to the office, staying silent for most of the trip. When we reached the door, I knocked.

The secretary's voice rang through the door, "Come in,"

Shamefaced, we shuffled inside.

She wordlessly pointed at a row of chairs, her message was obvious. _Sit. Wait. Be good little crazy children. I hate my job. _

We sat in the uncomfortable plastic chairs. James and TJ sitting on either side of me. I tried not to fidget as we waited.

We must have been sitting for about ten minutes before our principal, Mr. Paul, called us into his office.

We walked into the large office and sat down.

"I see you three have taken to passing notes," He said, almost amiably.

I winced, preparing myself for the lecture.

"I hope you realize that the content of these notes is unacceptable," He said.

"Yes sir," We mumbled.

"Bullying is not tolerated at Silversmith Middle School. I will not stand for you making fun of our new students. Do it again, and there will be consequences. Do you understand me?" He asked.

"Yes sir," We said.

"You will apologize to our new students, and for your punishment, you must spend your recess giving them a tour," He said.

I straightened, that was actually perfect. It gave us a chance to talk to them. Maybe even reason with them.

"Yes sir," We said again, this time with a hint of excitement.

"Alright, then you may go back to class," He said.

We gratefully got up and filed out of the office. We walked past the secretary's desk, a weary, "Have a nice day," rang from behind the computer.

I reflexively waved at her. Once we got well out of earshot of the office, we started talking.

"Guys! This is perfect! Now we have a chance to talk to them," I said excitedly.

TJ nodded, "We couldn't have asked for a better opportunity," He said.

James put in, "We can't afford to lose focus, though. We have to make sure they don't use the opportunity to kill us off," He reminded us.

I nodded, "Of course. Anyway, I have English class now, what about you guys?" I asked.

"Social Studies," James said.

"Science,"TJ replied.

"Okay, I guess we have to split up for now. See you guys at recess," I said.

We turned down opposite hallways and headed to our separate classes, not knowing this would be our last school day, and of the unimaginable horrors to come.


	8. Chapter 8

TJ's Perspective

Recess came way too slowly. The minutes inched by as I fidgeted in my chair. The worst thing was that none of the three Creepypastas were in my second hour, so I didn't get a chance to observe them.

After what seemed like forever, it was _finally _recess time. I walked to the office, where Mr Paul, Sophia, James, and the creepypastas were waiting for me.

I walked in the door, and stood next to my friends. Mr. Paul addressed us. "Now, you three, is there anything you wish to say to these boys?" He asked.

We didn't bother to answer the obviously rhetorical question. We just began with our apology.

"We're sorry we made fun of you guys. It was inappropriate, and we regret it, and hope we can be great friends in the future. We're sorry," We said, trying to sound sorry or regretful.

"It's cool," Said BEN, trying to hide a smirk.

I saw Sophia clench her fists in anger. I could tell that she was ready to fly at those three. I elbowed her in the side. She looked at me innocently, and I glared at her. My message was clear, _Don't do anything stupid. _

She gave me an annoyed look that read, _Speak for yourself, Potato Boy!_

_Shut up, Four Eyes!_

_Spud head! _

_Loser!_

_Tater Tot Brain! _

_Nerd!_

_Tuber Face!_

Our silent exchange of silent insults could've gone on all day if Mr. Paul hadn't announced, "Alright. Now that's settled, Tobias, Jeffery, and Benjamin need a tour of our school. Sophia, James, TJ, I trust that there'll be no more incidents?" He asked.

James spoke first, "No, sir. I mean, yes sir! I mean we won't do- There won't be any-" Sophia cut him off before he could make an even bigger fool of himself.

She shot Mr. Paul her most dazzling smile and dragged all five of us out of the office and into the hallway. The secretary didn't even notice us leave. I kinda felt bad for the old lady. I should get her a nice gift if I lived to see Secretary's Day.

We all walked down the hallway until we were well out of earshot of the office.

"So where are you going to show us first?" Jeff asked, casually.

Without answering, Sophia pulled us all into the Janitor's closet.

She turned on the lights and stared grimly at the three murderers.

Toby frowned in confusion, "W-what are we d-doing in here?" He asked.

Jeff smirked, "This where you make out with your little boyfriend?" He asked.

I felt my face grow hot, and started to open my mouth in indignation.

Sophia beat me to the punch (again), she pinched the bridge of her nose and slowly exhaled. After a second she spoke, her voice sounding like she had just heard the stupidest question in the world, "What the hell is wrong with you? I'm not even going to answer that." She said.

This answer seemed to mollify them for a second, which Sophia took as an invitation to interrogate them.

"Drop the act," She ordered, "We know who you are. Your little disguises didn't fool us," She said.

Jeff raised an eyebrow in a challenge, "Oh? Who are we then?" He asked.

"You're Jeffery Woods, Benjamin Lawman, and Toby Erin Rogers. Otherwise known as Jeff the Killer, BEN Drowned, and Ticci Toby. I could go on," She said, cooly.

Jeff was impressed, "Not bad, you know who we are. What are you going to do about it?" He asked.

Sophia was immediately ready with an answer, "We know you work for the Slenderman. We want in," She said.

Jeff looked at her carefully, slight fear flashing in his eyes, "We can't just recruit anyone, you kids don't know what you're getting yourselves into. You don't know what you're talking about." He mumbled.

She continued with her questioning, "Don't I? Thinking about it, we saw through your disguises pretty easily. I've seen the Slenderman, I've felt his power. If he wanted to, he could easily make a nearly impenetrable illusion. If I were to bet, you're here against his orders," She said.

Then she seemed to observe BEN's expression, and nodded like she could read him like a book, "In fact…" She paused for dramatic effect

"You're not even in the same alliance," She finished.

I was in awe, if she was right, she was a genius (Even though she's always late to class). Even if she wasn't right, the way she could read people and logically think things out was incredible, even a little scary.

I looked at their faces, which looked genuinely dumbstruck.

She smiled at the look on their faces, "I hit the nail on the head, huh?" She asked, smugly.

"H-Have you been s-s-spying on us?" Toby asked.

"Seriously, freaky," Said BEN sounding more than a little impressed.

She continued, "So tell us, why are you here?"

"W-well..." Toby trailed off.

Jeff continued for him, "The three of us sensed your stupid little summoning ritual, so we went to check it out. All three of us had clear orders, which we're physically unable to disobey, kill any trespassers. But for some reason, we weren't forced to follow them. We were in control of our own bodies for once. We just created an illusion of the Slenderman to get you to run for your lives. We hoped you'd move to Bangor Maine, or something before he noticed you, but it was too late. We sneaked out to warn you three to get out of here. It shouldn't have worked, we can't disobey him. He can posses our bodies and minds to do his bidding. Though it wasn't nearly as powerful as the Slenderman's, you shouldn't have been able to see through that illusion. For some reason, you three are different, you have a similar feeling as those who Slendy marks to make his proxy…" He trailed off, as if realizing what he said.

Jeff's eyes widened in anger, "That bastard! Of course!" He said.

To Toby, he said, "He wants to initiate Stage Two of Operation Cat and Mouse," He said.

Toby's eyes widened, "W-what?!"

BEN looked as confused as we were, "What are you talking about?" He asked, utterly mystified.

Jeff seemed to give a silent message to BEN as to what he meant, his blood streaming eyes widened, "Oh…" He said.

Toby's eyes filled with pity, "Those p-poor kids," He said mournfully.

I looked at Sophia, but she looked as lost as I felt, "What in the name of God are you talking about?" She asked, frustrated.

Jeff looked at her, "Look, we can't give you all the details right now, meet us at TJ's house, after school," He said.

I wanted to ask how they knew where I lived, but in all honesty, I didn't really want to know.

Sophia scowled, "How do we know that you're not just luring us into a trap?" She asked.

Jeff sighed in frustration, "You said it yourself, we're not here on his orders. In fact, I'd give anything to kill that son of a-" His body contorted, and his mouth clenched shut.

He writhed for a couple of seconds, before he took back control. He gasped, "You see? We're punished if we insult him, or do anything against his orders. Usually I can take back control faster than that. This stupid dimension is weakening us," He said.

She nodded, "Alright, TJ's house, ASAP," She said.

We left the Janitor's closet, James lead the way. He didn't seem to want to be anywhere near the three killers.

"Do you guys still need the grand tour?" Sophia asked, with more than a hint of sarcasm.

Jeff smirked, "I think we'll be fine," He said.

We turned down opposite sides of the hallway and headed for lunch. The walk was quiet and uneventful, which was becoming a more rare thing these days.

Sophia was the first to find her voice, "Did we just do that? Did I just make friends with Jeff the Killer?" She asked, in slight awe.

My head snapped up in alarm, this was getting dangerously cliche, "Don't tell me you have a crush on him!" I said.

She looked at me and burst out laughing, "Are you serious, TJ?" She asked, once she could speak again.

"A: Cliche. B: He's not exactly a looker. And most importantly, C: I'm a Lesbian," She said.

James was the first to speak, "Wait, you're a lesbian?" He asked.

I mean, it wasn't news to me. She told me last year, but begged me to keep it a secret. I never told anyone, even James, in respect of her privacy. She never mentioned it afterwards, but by the way she so casually said it now meant that she was probably over the secretive stage.

"Yeah," I said.

"Why was I not told about this sooner?" James asked.

She shook her head, "Never mind. It's not that big of a deal, is it?" She asked.

He frantically shook his head, "No! No! Of course it's not! It's just I'm surprised. I mean, not in a bad way. You do whatever you want to do. I just, you know, wish you'd told me too," He said.

A look of hurt and guilt flashed on Sophia's face, and a sudden surge of anger filled me, "She wasn't obligated to tell you! She was dealing with a lot!" I defended her.

She sighed, "It's fine, TJ. I really should've told you sooner. I'm sorry," She said to James.

He shook his head, "No, I'm sorry. Really you don't need to apologize. I shouldn't have been such a jerk about it," He said.

A slightly uncomfortable silence fell on our trio as we made our way to the lunch line. We waited in silence as we got soggy broccoli, grainy pears, and what I really hoped was tuna casserole.

We still didn't talk as we walked to the cafeteria and sat at our usual table. I raised my fork, but really hoped the need would never arise for me to actually eat whatever was on my tray.

Then I got an idea to get rid of the awkwardness, I took a bite of the Casserole. It wasn't deadly, but it was pretty awful. I made a face, and set down my fork.  
"Ugh! Where do they get this stuff from?" I demanded.

Sophia and James laughed.

I continued, now grinning myself, "Seriously. If I don't start bringing bag lunches, the creepypastas will be the least of my worries," I declared.

Sophia tried a bite, curious. Her face contorted in a grimace, "That's, wow, Jesus Christ," She choked.

James, also curious, tried some of the slop. His face also twisted in disgust, "Good lord. Did this stuff come from a nuclear wasteland?" He gagged.

For the first time in a while, we laughed. It felt good to be like normal eighth grade students that weren't being hunted by the Slenderman. We laughed and talked about things we haven't talked about in months. It was almost carefree.

It was nice, but the bell brought us back down to Earth. As we through our lunch trays away, and headed to our separate classes, I knew that the next time we carefree discussion like that would be a long time from now. We had already been through too much.

And I had a nagging feeling that the worst was yet to come.


	9. Chapter 9

James' Perspective

Surprisingly enough, the rest of the day flew by. You'd think, with everything going on after school, that the day would slow to a crawl. I mean, we were about to receive life changing information that could either save us or kill us. This was life or death!

Then again, maybe that's why each class seemed way too short. After all, these were probably going to be the last few normal hours in my life.

Well, there was no slowing down the clock. So I listened to the end of the day announcements in silence. The bell that immediately followed sounded like the Don't-Be-Stupid-You-Can-Still-Back-Out Alarm.

I ignored the warning, I couldn't be a wuss. My friends needed me, and I wasn't going to wimp out anytime soon.

I walked quickly to my locker, and got my stuff. My bike was waiting on the rack right outside of the door, and it was calling my name. No matter how much I dreaded the meeting at TJ's house, waiting at school another second was even worse.

I began walking to the exit door, and ran straight into Sophia and TJ.

"Are you ready for this?" Asked Sophia.

I nodded, then shook my head, "Yeah, not really," I said.

TJ spoke next, "I'm ready! I mean, we did summon Him. We wanted this, didn't we?" He pointed out.

"Yeah, certain death sounds like a total blast," I said, dryly.

TJ shook his head, "Oh, don't be so negative, James. We'll be fine!"

Sophia smiled, "I wish I shared your optimism, TJ. But James has a point. The chances that we'll get out of this alive are astronomical," She pointed out.

"We'll be fine, I'm sure the guys have a plan. I trust them, they'll get us out alive. All of us," TJ insisted.

Sophia tensed, "Guys, we need to have a serious talk about what's going to happen to us," She said, as we mounted our bikes.

I frowned, "Isn't that what we're going to TJ's house to do?" I asked.

We pushed off and began pedaling, careful to remain in earshot of each other.

"I mean, we need to talk about what could happen. You know, worst case scenario," Sophia elaborated.

TJ and I immediately understood what she was talking about, and neither of us liked it. TJ was still firmly optimistic, "No way. It's not going to happen. We're all going to make it through this," He said, stubbornly.

Sophia sighed in exasperation, "TJ! Be realistic! We don't know what's going to happen to us, but it's probably going to be nearly impossible to survive. I'm not saying there's no hope, I'm just saying we need to consider the fact that the odds of us all living through this are slim," She said.

I agreed with Sophia, "She's right, TJ. We need to talk about this, at least once," I said.

TJ's face fell in defeat, "Fine," He said.

Sophia began talking immediately, "Okay. Look, if one of us gets injured, or can't go on with whatever we need to do, we have to leave them behind. It hurts so much to say this, but we can't risk the entire group for one of us," She said, painedly.

That was horrible! I would never leave one of my friends behind. I opened my mouth to protest, then hesitated. I pictured a scenario where I was incapacitated, TJ and Sophia refused to run, and we all died.

After that cheerful thought, came to my attention, I agreed with her. After all, if something awful happened to me, I wouldn't want my friends to die too.

Unfortunately, TJ didn't see eye to eye with us, "No way!" He cried in indignation.

"TJ-" Sophia began.

"Do You think I would just leave one of you behind? Do you think I wouldn't risk my life in a second for you two? You guys are my friends. No! My family! I'd rather die than leave either of you," He declared.

I felt a sudden burst of impatient anger, "You don't get it! We're going to die, TJ! There, I said it. We made a stupid decision, and now we're going to pay the price. So stop being such a moron, and face it!" I snapped.

My words were followed by silence, and guilt flowed through me immediately.

I looked at TJ, expecting to see anger on his face, but there was none there. To my shock, there were tears, actual tears, rolling down his cheeks.

My guilt intensified, "TJ, I-" I began.

He interrupted me, in a broken voice, he said, "I know,"

I frowned in confusion, "What?"

"I know," He repeated, "I'm the one who made this stupid decision. It's my blood on the tree. I can't stand the idea of us not being okay, because it'll be all my fault. I'm sorry, I didn't want this to happen to you guys," He said, voice heavy with defeat.

I didn't have any words of consolation, but Sophia did, "Are you serious, TJ?" She asked, voice shaking in rage, "You think this is your fault? Your blood on the tree, he says! Who do you think put it there, dumbass! This is all of our faults, so stop moping around and man up! Come on, man, we have to be strong if we're going to survive. Understand?" Sophia asked.

TJ looked too terrified to contradict her, and I agreed.

"Yes Ma'am," TJ and I said.

She looked satisfied, "Good, now, to TJ's house,"  
"Right!" TJ and I said.

With our morale newly restored, we pedaled to TJ's house. Little did we know, that morale boost wouldn't last long. For the worst, unfortunately for us, was still yet to come.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Sophia's Perspective

TJ is so annoying! How dare he even think about blaming himself! Honestly, what a moron!

Even after my speech telling him to stop being a baby, I was still angry. I mean, after all we've been through I can't believe he had the nerve to blame himself. It was infuriating.

I was annoyed, but as TJ's house came into view, the annoyance quickly dissipated.

We rode up to his driveway, and stopped our bikes. We dismounted and gently set our bikes on the grass of TJ's front lawn. Our helmets were carelessly dropped next to them.

I looked up at the house, the once welcoming place that I'd grown to consider my second home had a foreboding atmosphere. The house seemed to radiate two words, _Get… Out… _

A strange feeling of dread that washed over me, and I shivered. I suddenly felt a cold, much deeper than the normal November chill. It sunk into my bones, and made my entire body feel heavy and lifeless. Like I was a corpse, already dead, buried, and paralyzed.

"Does anyone else feel… Cold?" I asked, my voice sounding weird in my ears.

The others nodded, and my sense of dread increased.

I swallowed, "Alright, let's go inside," I said.

TJ lead the way into his house, and James and I followed.

Why did it feel like the further we ventured into the house, the farther we strayed towards the point of no return?

I was being ridiculous. I'd known TJ so long, his house was like my second home. There was no reason to be afraid of it now. Denying our dread, we made our way to the front door.

TJ fished around in his pocket until he found the house key, and opened the door. He put the key into the lock, but faltered halfway through turning it.

He frowned, "What the hell?" He muttered.

"What's wrong?" James asked.

He turned around to face us, his face confused and a little scared, "It's unlocked," He said.

Immediately, I felt the same chill of dread that was made apparent by his expression.

"Did you forget to lock it?" James asked with feeble hope.

TJ shook his head adamantly, "I never forget to lock the door when I leave the house! Especially lately…" He trailed off.

I knew what he meant. Ever since we summoned the Slenderman, and TJ told me about his nightmares, we were all very cautious. We set a sundown curfew for ourselves, and always triple checked that our doors were locked at night. There was no way he would forget to lock the door.

James was still hopeful, "Are your parents home? Maybe they forgot to lock it," He suggested.

TJ shook his head again, "They're working a night shift tonight, so they won't be home until about 10:00. And no, they're nuts about home safety, they wouldn't leave the front door unlocked,"

James was confused, "Then how could the door be unlocked?" He asked.

We thought for a while, but couldn't come up with anything close to a reasonable, or even unreasonable, explanation.

After a while, I gave up, "Come on guys, let's just go inside. Sitting out here thinking all day won't do us any good," I said.

TJ nodded, "She's right. We need to just face whatever unlocked my front door," He said.

"Guys, this is a bad idea! I don't think we should-" James started to say.

"Too bad!" TJ and I simultaneously interrupted. We pushed him inside before he could protest any further.

As soon as we crossed the threshold of the front door I felt the same chill of dread that I felt outside, but much worse. I shivered, the cold penetrated deeper in my soul than any force in the world should be able to do. It was invasive, cruel, and unrelenting.

My vision became tinged black around the edges, and I felt my knees go weak. This force was too much for me to handle, it was too much for anyone to handle! No human could be subjected to this and live through the trauma!

Just as whatever resistance I had left started to disintegrate, I felt a spark of determination. No! I couldn't die here! Not while my friends still needed me. I focused on that spark of hope and clung to it like my life depended on it, which it did.

That spark soon grew into a flame, and it fought off the inky darkness. I concentrated on everything that gave me hope in life, and poured my soul into the flame.

_TJ and James. _

_Cats._

_Books. _

_Ice Cream. _

_Chess. _

_Video Games. _

_Pancakes._

_Soccer._

_Tae Kwon Do._

_Piano. _

_Cute Girls! _

In a Herculean feat, I snapped out of my trance.

Suddenly, I was back in TJ's foyer. I could detect the dark force, but it was distant. I didn't need to worry about it… Yet.

The dizziness was a more pressing matter than the distant darkness. Currently, I was swaying on my feet, struggling to stay standing.

Unfortunately for me, I lost the battle. With one last feeble attempt to steady myself, I fell on my butt.

Sitting on the floor, still dazed, I noticed that TJ was already out of his trance.

I frowned, "How did you already get out of that?" I asked.

"Meh, I don't really know." He said, "Everything went black, and instantly I awoke on the floor. Don't worry, it took me awhile to get up too."

I look back down the hall and see James just getting up.

"Is he okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, It was just harder for him to get out of his trance, the-" TJ was cut off.

James shushed us and put his ear to TJ's room.

TJ whispered, "What are you doing? Did you hear something?"

James's face fell into a look of shock and he tip-toed his way to TJ and me.

"G-guys…" James stuttered.

"What is it!?" TJ and I hissed, trying not to let anyone hear us, but impatient for the information. .

"S-Someone is in y-your room" James finished.

TJ, fearing for his belongings, (or maybe something else), grabbed James and me. hauled us to the door, and let us go.

"TJ," I cautiously began, "Maybe we should call the-"

I noticed him open the door a crack, _Good, he's being careful for once. _I thought.

_BAM!_ He kicked down the door, and yelled, "FBI OPEN UP!" Sounding angry and confident.

I leapt a mile, then facepalmed. Well, I suppose TJ doesn't really _do _careful.

TJ stood in front of James and Me, holding up a finger gun. He stood confidently, fully prepared to fight the evil in our room with imaginary bullets.

After he got a good look at who was in his room, he lowered his imaginary firearm.

I peeked over TJ's shoulder, only to see an extremely startled, Jeff, BEN, and Toby. BEN seemed to have jumped so high, his ghostly form disappeared in the ceiling. Toby, who must've formerly been perched on the window cill, started to fall.

And Jeff, poor Jeff. When he realized what was happening, he simultaneously grabbed Toby, pulled him up, pulled out his knife, and faced us.

TJ was staring in disbelief, James was cowering behind me, and I prepared for a fight. When Jeff noticed who we were, he lowered his weapon, "Jesus Christ," He exhaled, "You scared the hell out of us," He said.

Before we could speak, Jeff looked up at the ceiling, "BEN, you can come down now. It's just them,"

Cautiously, BEN sank back through the ceiling and sat on the bed. He scowled at TJ, "You scared us," He complained.

TJ finally found his voice, "I scared you?! What are you doing in my room? How did you get in my house? How do you even know where I live in the first place?" He demanded.

Jeff held up his hands, "Calm down, I wish that I had time to explain everything, but that will have to wait. For now, I only have time to tell you everything that concerns your immediate survival," He said.

"What?" I asked. My head, again, was spinning from too much information at once.

"Save all your questions to the end," Jeff said.

_What is this, a powerpoint presentation? _I thought, irritated. I didn't say anything, though. If the information he was about to give us was vital, I didn't want to interrupt him.

Jeff cleared his throat, "Ahem. Let me start from the beginning. When I was a young lad, there were these little jackasses named, Randy, Troy, and Keith-" He began.

I interrupted him, "We know, Jeff. You don't need to start that far back. How about starting at the part where you tell us how not to die a horrible death," I suggested.

Jeff seemed to consider this, "Okay," He agreed after a moment.

He continued, this time with useful information, "You three are in grave danger…."

And thus began the conversation that would change our lives. From that moment onward we were no longer the three good children from Wisconsin. We were the three proxies who would bring down the Slenderman and Zalgo once and for all. We would masquerade as cold blooded and heartless killers, who answer only to their master. When, in reality, we would slowly destroy their organization from the inside. Look out, Slenderman. You're about to get your ass kicked.


	11. Chapter 11

Jeff paused for dramatic effect after delivering his ominous opening. After a second of silence, he finally continued, "The minute you walked into the woods, we knew you guys were different from most humans. It's hard to explain, but you had a different aura. Your life force was a slightly different structure. Also, those woods had a powerful human repellent enchantment. Any normal person would be physically and mentally unable to enter. You guys, for whatever reason, had no trouble. Slenderman was interested, so he sent us to investigate. We watched you do your little ritual. Which, by itself, would've been completely useless. I don't know what idiot came up with it, or where they came from in the first place, but rituals like that don't work. But really, where did you find that ritual?" He asked.

I shrugged, "I found it on DeviantART," I said.

Jeff nodded, "Ah, yes, DeviantART. The source of all evils," He said.

Sophia laughed, almost like the two somehow shared some kind of inside joke. Before I could even begin to wonder why or how this was possible, Jeff continued.

"Anyway, we came to see that you three, while resistant to our barrier, weren't immune to its negative effects on the human body. That especially applies to you, Sophia," He said.

She frowned, "Why me?" She asked.

"Because, while you can more easily detect supernatural presence, your weak point is resisting it. That's why you started acting strange. You unconsciously succumbed to the barrier's influence on your mind," He said.

"Wait, so she didn't get possessed by a demon?" I interrupted.

Jeff looked at me, then burst out laughing, "A demon?! Man, humans are even dumber than I thought. Kid, if even a low level demon tries to possess a human, their head will explode. Trust me, I've seen it. It's not pretty," he said.

"Really? Cool!" I said.

Sophia snorted, "No way, I don't believe you for a second."

"Really, it's true. Liquified brains are impossible to get out of a white hoodie," He said.

James finally found his voice, "How many of those have you gone through?" He asked.

"Let's see, E- Uh, BEN! How many people have I killed?" He asked, his expression seemingly flickering to sadness. It was so quick that I almost didn't notice. Sophia probably did. She also probably knew what "E" meant, and why it made Jeff so sad.

I snapped back to attention. I couldn't afford to space out here.

BEN rolled his eyes, ignoring Jeff's stutter, "If you replaced your hoodie every time you got blood on it, your alliance would've gone bankrupt a long time ago. But cleaning it every once in a while wouldn't kill you. Seriously Jeff, they're called washing machines," He said.

"Well, ExCUSE me if I'm not magic like Toby. Not everyone is able to keep their hoodie smelling like waffles and the forest. Little bastard," he added.

"U-um, thanks?" Toby said.

"You're welcome. What were we talking about again?" He asked.

"Demons Jeff, we were talking about demons," Sophia sighed.

"Right! About that, I have some news," He said, his expression became serious again.

"What is it?" Sophia asked, expression also darkening.

He took a deep breath, "After the woods, Slender ordered us to learn more about you guys. That's how we know where you live, where you keep your spare keys, where you all go to school, your date of birth, your blood types-" He rambled.

"We get it, Jeff, what's the news?" Sophia asked.

"It's relatively cold today, with partly cloudy skies-"  
"JEFF!" Sophia screamed.

"Okay, okay, keep your hair on. You see, we also found out something about your ancestry that explained everything. You guys- You guys are the last remaining descendants of the lost demon race," He said.

A beat of silence dropped as we processed this information.

"What?" Sophia asked.

"How?" James asked.

"Cool!" I said.

Everyone in the room stared at me, "What? Do I have something on my face?" I asked, confused.

They all breathed a collective sigh and turned back to look at each other.

When Sophia managed to speak again, her voice was shaky, "Wh-what is the lost d-demon race?" She asked.

"A long time ago, before any other living creature existed, demons walked the earth. Back then, it was a lot harsher of a place. There were no plants, animals, or water yet. There was just fire, and rocks. While the demons existed, they created things like water, plants, and eventually animals. They were on the top of the food chain, every living creature obeyed their commands. They were the rulers of the planet for a few million years. Then, one day, they suddenly disappeared. No asteroid, no volcano, no nothing. They just were there one day and gone the next. Not even we know what happened to them. The only reason we know they exist is because our bosses are the descendants of their descendants, if you know what I mean. When we found traces of demon ancestry in your DNA, we figured you were related to an obscure modern race of demons. But when we looked further, we realized that the markers in your DNA, while similar, didn't match any known race of demon. I don't know how it's possible, but you guys are connected to a race that went extinct 3 and a half billion years ago," He finished.

"W-What does that mean for us? What the hell are we?!" Sophia demanded, sounding close to tears.

"If your power could be properly awakened, you have the potential to surpass Slenderman and even Zalgo in power. That's why we convinced Slenderman to not kill you. You could be the ones to destroy the evils of Zalgo and Slenderman once and for all," He said.

My head spun with the new information. There was too much of it coming at once, turning my excited attitude into pure confusion. How could we be descended from a race that went extinct a zillion years ago? That was like picking up a random lizard off the ground and saying that its Daddy was a T-rex. It just wasn't possible.

I meant to ask about all of that, but what came out of my mouth was, "How do we awaken our power?"

Jeff looked surprised, "That's… A fair question," he said.

Sophia started clapping, "Bravo, I didn't know you had it in you!" She said.

Instead of answering, I flipped her a rude gesture.

In response, she stuck her tongue out at me.

"Unfortunately, I don't have an answer for that. And even if we could figure out how, there's a pretty good chance that the strain might kill you," Jeff said.

"Why is everything trying to kill us lately? Seriously, it's getting annoying," Sophia said.

"Welcome to my world, sister," Jeff deadpanned.

I laughed, then felt guilty. All of this time I'd thought Jeff and the others lived in a mansion in the woods with Slenderman who was like a father figure. I thought that life sounded fun. Turns out, though it was still pretty awesome, their life wasn't all that great. Thinking back on it, I wondered what idiot came up with that idea in the first place.

"So, you were talking about us joining your alliance," James began, "How do we do that? Is there some kind of application, or-"

"Right, right, I almost forgot," Jeff cut him off, "I wish it was that easy. You see, we have a sort of initiation process-"

"I don't like where this is going," James interrupted.

"We call it Operation Cat and Mouse," He continued, ignoring James' outburst.

"I really don't like where this is going," James said again.

Sophia glared at him in exasperation, "Shut up!"

He shut up.

"Anyway, to give a brief synopsis, it's basically a ritual to prove yourselves worthy to work for Slenderman. You have to spend five nights in the woods while we try to chase and kill you," He explained.

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"Because, if you don't, you'll die," Jeff said.

"So we essentially have to choose between certain death or almost certain, maybe not quite death?" Sophia asked.

"So, we die either way?" James asked.

"Well, everyone dies eventually. But if you do what we say, you might die at the reasonable age of thirty," Jeff said.

"Man I would've killed to make it to thirty," Ben said wistfully.

"I don't personally expect to live past twenty," Toby said.

"I should've died a long time ago from the infection in my mouth wound, or my eyelids, or my many untreated burn wounds," Jeff continued, "Thinking back, my story wasn't the most logical thing in the world," Jeff finished.

"Alright, this is getting way too meta for my liking," Sophia said, "You were talking about a ritual, Jeff?"

"Ah yes, right. So, you have to pack all of your supplies tonight, because in the morning you'll be teleported into the woods. From there, you have to run from an unseen opponent, who in this case is one of us, and collect notes before sunrise. During the day, you sleep, at night you run, and by the end of the five nights you get initiated into our alliance," He explained.

"That… Sounds like a whole lotta nope right there," I said, starting to get a bad feeling about this.

"Yikes, if TJ's getting a bad feeling about this, then you know it's bad. Are you guys sure you want to go through with this?" Sophia asked, sharing a concerned glance with me.

There was a silence as we thought about it, but to our surprise, James broke the silence, "Guys, I don't like this any more than you do, but it doesn't seem like we have much of a choice. We're in too deep now, we have to see this thing through to the end," He said.

Sophia sighed, "Hate to admit it, but he's right. We started this, we have to finish it."

I nodded, "Okay, so what's the game plan?"


End file.
